Monday, 29 July 2013

Well, many months have passed and did I promise to tell you what is the progress of this new-found toy-craze with the kiddos?

Of course I did. Frankly, the use of coconuts in place of rubber ball may sound stupid but it's just very economical for me. Just like the rubber ball, the coconuts too get destroyed. But at least you don't feel like "oh nooooo" when it's battered. Let me tell you why. After months of observation, in this case, I can affirm that the coconuts last for about 5-7 days; they'll break into two after two days. Gradually they'll be shredded apart and then it's goodbye, which means time for a new one.

I must say Chila had been keeping herself very busy all the time since the arrival of the coconuts. She's been sleeping well too with all that high-drive and superdog-energy in her being put to some use. I also noticed her teeth have become cleaner as the tears the fruit. In case you're wondering if she has been eating the coconut husk, no absolutely not. Just ripping them apart. But in my defense (or hers...) it's very energy consuming and a good exercise.

credit: richardbarrow.com

One strange thing is, I've always had this knack of checking out nicely-modified cars while on the road. But lately I've been checking out coconut trees instead. Every time I see a short tree that's easy to climb, I'll definitely stop and count my blessings. On top of that, some people in my Taman have probably concluded that I'm crazy, whenever I request to pluck their coconuts. This especially happens when I selectively pluck the small fruits. They will ask why take the small ones. The moment I tell the actual purpose behind my coconut plucking, they go like:

So yeah, I'm crazy. But why not eh :D

Soon this thing took a twist... As Chila started playing with the coconut everyday, my male dog (Quando) slowly got influenced by the behaviour. This was pretty unusual as Quando is the last person I'd expect to be influenced.

That's Quando up there. He's probably the most macho and handsome German Shepherd I've ever owned. He has this touch of arrogance, calmness and class about him. He's very territorial and a no-nonsense character. In other words, he's a serious dog lah...But, I didn't know that was about to change when the coconut-toy came into his life.

Silly me, I actually underestimated Chila's ability to influence the alpha dog. But she proved me wrong. I started noticing Quando trying to steal or sometimes snatch the coconut from Chila's mouth. This turned into a tugging war between them. Quando also started to play fetch with the coconuts. He later became so engrossed with the coconut just like Chila and will never leave the house without it. WTF..what is it with coconuts and my dogs..LOL

Here are some bits from the romance between them:

The headbanging dance: In this particular dance, he will grab the coconut with his huge mouth and swing the head left and right, up and down. This can last about 30 seconds. After seeing this, I probably would want to bring him to some rock concert soon.

Party people, why take ecstasy pills and go to jail? Bite a coconut and dance y'all..

The Yoga: Stretching and flexing your body can do wonders. Breathe in....breath out...breathe in slowly.....breathe out..... He'll just fall asleep like this in a bit. No scientific evidence whether what I believe is exactly what's going on here.

Fetch in a flash: This is where his high drive is demonstrated. I will just throwthe coconut as far as I can. He will fly in a flash and retrieve it. Great work out.

Coconut Body Slide: This is a routine where the coconut is assumed as if it has come to life. He likes to release it on his body and see it roll down. Every time the fruit is thrown or rolled around, it moves and Quando gets excited, probably thinking that the coconut is actually interacting with him. Like it's trying to run away from him or something. He'll do it again and again. Silly boy.

The Coconut Face-Off: This face-off has no meaning whatsoever. God knows why they do this every now and then.

The Steamroller: Attempting to roll on top of the coconut repeatedly. This has been found to bring out sensual expressions in him.

I know right. It's just getting so gedik. All the pride I had about his macho-ness vanished just like that. There's a real battle of jealousy going on between him and Chila ever since. Both of them appear as if they're bragging about their precious 'toy' and teasing each other. Probably that explains the meaningless face-off up here. And with all that romance, I can only come to one conclusion. Quando is seriously in love of with the coconuts. Nothing can separate them apart now. Not even a sinking ship.

Anyways I'm not propagating that you should stop buying rubber balls and switch to coconuts. I'm just sharing my children's antics at home. Although a coconut can last up to 5 days, I usually only use for a day and change to a new one the next day. Simply because I don't want any ingestion of bacteria (or at least that's what I think). And I only use the coconuts sparingly whenever there is no rubber ball in stock. So at least there's something to replace their craving. It also makes them less bored of their toys, because I constantly change them, and there's always something fresh in terms of the functionality.

Having said that, I believe the kids are now very occupied under their own 'coconut shells'. This is a serious business for them now. And when duty calls, there's just too much at stake to decide...

Blogger's note: I think by far, this is the most 'heaviest' and sensitive topic I've ever carried in my blog. Bear in mind that every opinion here is very subjective and can be interpreted differently, depending on your appetite to find fault. Like the cartoon strip I put above, something a lethal as a bomb can be used as a tool for terrorism, to protect and to entertain. Similarly, every invention in the medical science has its use. This includes the PTS procedure. It depends when, why and how it is applied. The purpose, principle and premeditation can change the entire perspective of its usage. However, make no mistake that PTS will remain a taboo word for animal lovers for a long long time to come. I really hope it does. Coz otherwise, words like rescue, saving, persistence, try, recovery, hope and love will die together in the finality of the drug.

If it's your first time here, this segment is my hybrid bilingual post with renowned animal activist Papa Hero (from Kakimotong Fan Club), sharing his thoughts and views on animal welfare. This segment is also dedicated to a section of A Fortress of Fur followers who may feel comfortable reading in Bahasa Melayu (thanks to popular request). So now with this in place, you have no excuse to miss out on education and awareness due to language barriers. The English version can be found in our June edition magazine, in a two-page spread. If you didn't manage to get a copy, read it online on page 32-33.

Thursday, 4 July 2013

I was supposed to post something entertaining this week. More so after I posted an entry about a footballer throwing a dog last week. Unfortunately, this grisly video intervened the scheduled post. And it's seriously disturbing. I'm so mad and disgusted after watching it. The video went viral about two days ago. I'm sure some of you have watched it. I also received calls from friends talking about it, and some said they cried.Here's the sick incident again: WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

The incident happened in Hawthorne, California.

Leon Rosby the owner of the dog and other bystanders were recording a developing situation (police raid) in their neighbourhood. 52 year-old Leon Rosby, was also walking his dog around the area. He was later asked to turn down the loud music coming from his car by the officers. Some verbal exchange ensued.

Eventually, Rosby calmly secured his dog in the car, walked over to the officers and turned around, volunteering himself for arrest. As the officers put handcuffs on Rosby, the dog started barking and managed to jump out of the car. The dog was worried about the master and tried to protect him. To my dismay, another officer quickly came and killed the innocent dog within seconds.

'He literally killed my puppy I had since he was 6 weeks old,' Rosby said.

'I was crying and hollering, "My dog! Max! Max!"'

Rosby doesn't understand why police didn't let him go to properly secure his dog again, or why they continued to arrest him after he put the dog in the car - a sign that he was leaving.

'There was no way Max should have died like that,' Rosby said.

'Max was only protecting his master. He was trying to stop them from beating on me. All he did was love me,' he added.

Moments before Max was secured in the car. He was calm and happy. He was looking at the camera. Not knowing that his life will be needlessly taken away in the next minute.

Rosby was held overnight in jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and he was released the next day.
Rosby says that police would not return his dog's body to him. His attorney says that Rosby is planning on filing a lawsuit against the Hawthorne Police Department.

Rosby believes the officer who fired the shots, Jeffrey Salmon, was coming to kill him. In an interview with Bright Cove, Rosby stated

"As I was turning this way, I turned around and my dog jumped out of the car. I said 'Max no' and a third officer came this way and he had his gun drawn already so he came over here to kill me."

It was then Max went to defend his owner. One shot had the dog subdued and backing away from the officers. Salmon decided to fire his weapon an addition of three times, ending the dogs life before several horrified witnesses.

The blood stains are still on the street where the murder occurred. They support Rosby's statement that Max was trying to get away.

Rosby's emotional interview:

Apparently the officer who shot Max has a bad record. This isn't the first time officer Jeffrey Salmon has been in trouble for actions he took during an arrest. In 2006, Salmon was one of several officers charged with alleged deprivation of civil rights resulting from excessive force, denial of medical treatment and malicious prosecution, stemming from an incident that occurred at a party.

Now that this shooting incident has become a public outcry and I'm sure animal lovers in the US will push this matter. Their country is in the midst of a huge discourse regarding gun ownership among citizens, following series of shooting incidents. The debate is still ongoing. But now, it appears that the AUTHORITIES TOO need some education on guns. This trigger-happy cop with a history of violence should be sent to jail. It could have been easier to use taser or pepper spay if the dog was really obstructing one's duty.

Here are some "vulgarity-free" reactions from the public. Taken from The Examiner :-

I expect they will strip off Salmon's badge just to calm down the public. But the trauma Salmon inflicted on the owner and the onlookers deserves heavier punishment. I rang a few friends in the States, who unanimously agree that taser and pepper spray work well with dogs and had been used widely in similar situations. And in Malaysia, we're not spared from cases of alleged brutality by officers. Let's not generalise.. If you follow the current issues, people are dying in lockups ( case is still under investigation ), councils are allegedly catching dogs and cats in a cruel manner and the list goes on. Today this happened in the US, tomorrow it MAY happen here. And IF it happens here, the punishment against animal abuse is so hopeless that it will be just another honeymoon for the perpetrators. It's sad but true... Let's pray and hope we will never have to deal with such an issue. Let's work together to tighten and solidify the existing law, so that one day we don't have to argue about what's right and wrong.

And I can actually feel Rosby's pain and trauma to watch his dog dying like that before him. I know how much it hurts..Because when I was seven, my dog Blacky was shot to death about 6-feet away..., Right in front of my helpless eyes by the council's dog catchers in Perak..(back then the Majlis used guns to hunt dogs). I remember his cries. His painful jerk and struggle.. I remember the blood stain on my cloth and hands. After watching this video, my old wounds are reopened.